Posted by
arandomguy on Thursday, October 26, 2006 12:04:50 AM
By all accounts, the press conference President Bush gave today, was one of his more remarkable during his term. He is explaining US strategy in Iraq to those who doubt the justice in our cause, and hopefully it will help to energize both the Republican base, and moderates who may have otherwise voted Democratic.
"We're winning and we will win, unless we leave before the job is done," he said at the conference today. This is extremely important, because Bush has infamous PR problems. It is good to see him taking the important issues - namely the war on islamic fascism - to the people, and explaining the governments stance on them, as well as what the Administration is doing.
Another problem for the Bush administration, is that many people feel that the administration is unable, or at least unwilling to admit when it has made a mistake. I tend not to believe this - the Bush administration is generally OK at admitting when it blunders - but the American people are what matter in this election. He addressed this, with the following:
"I know many Americans are not satisfied with the situation. I'm not satisfied either," he said.
More important to the Conservative cause, as well as to our victory in the war on islamic fascism, he addressed US strategy, as well as our ability to cope with the growing sectarian violence in the country. This quote in particular is of importance; "We are making it clear that America's patience is not unlimited."
This is meant generally to appeal to the moderates who are growing weary of the war, and perhaps even some liberals pushing for troop withdrawl. However, it is also a clear statement to the American people that we need to hold on a while longer in order to achieve victory.
However, it is also a statement - to the Iraqi government - that they need to get moving. I support this war, believe me. But it does anger me to see the Iraqi government flounder so much in the wake of war. However, I do remember that it took the US much longer than 5 years to establish a functioning government, and furthermore, we weren't fighting a sectarian civil war.
That said, Iraq could be making a stronger effort to crack down on terrorism within its borders - and hopefully Bush will convince the Iraqi government to get moving.
Regardless, the speech is definitely good for the elections, because it will only serve to help Republicans. Bush needs to continue making these kinds of speeches throughout the next 2 weeks, because it is quite possibly the only way the Republicans will maintain control.